Year 10 - Religious education
Forms of meditation: samatha and mettabhavana
Buddhism: Practices
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils will examine practices in Buddhism such as puja and meditation. They will understand the considerable diversity of these practices among Buddhist adherents. Following that they wil look at the role of precepts and how these look different in Therevada and Mahayna Buddhism.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain the nature, purpose and significance of meditation including samatha and mettabhanvana meditation, for Buddhists today.
Key Notes
- Samatha meditation is mainly used in Theravada Buddhism.
- Samatha meditation is about calmness and relies on the mindfulness of breathing.
- Many non-Buddhists use meditation as a way to calm the mind, reduce stress and increase focus.
- Some Buddhists use objects called kasinas to focus during meditation.
- Mettabhavana meditation assists with developing feelings of loving-kindness.
Vocabulary To Learn
- meditation: a spiritual experience that opens a person up to the highest state of consciousness
- mettabhavana: the development of loving kindness, usually through meditation
- mindfulness of breathing: a form of meditation found in Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism. It focuses on the practice of breathing
- samatha: calmness or breathing meditation
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The goal of samatha meditation is to achieve enlightenment or insight.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Samatha meditation is mainly used in Theravada Buddhism. Samatha meditation is about calmness and relies on the mindfulness of breathing.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'meditation'
a spiritual experience that opens a person up to the highest state of consciousness.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: The goal of samatha meditation is to achieve enlightenment or insight. Correction: Samatha is primarily a concentration practice aimed at stilling the mind through focused attention, often using a single object like the breath or a visual object (kasina).
More Lessons In This Unit
- Buddhist festivals in Britain Study Guide
- Buddhist temples in Britain and globally Study Guide
- Death and mourning in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism Study Guide
- Devotional practices Study Guide
- Features and functions of Buddhist places of worship Study Guide
- Festivals and retreats Study Guide
- Forms of meditation: vipassana Study Guide
- Puja and mudras Study Guide
- The role of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in meditation Study Guide
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